Yemen's blood bank faces threat of closure within days

War-torn country may be hit by new humanitarian disaster as depleted blood bank treats some 3,000 Yemenis a month.

12 Aug 2017 05:44 GMT

Less than half of Yemen's hospitals are still up and running two years into the war in the country [Reuters]

Yemen's blood bank has sent out an urgent appeal to anyone who will listen as war and a blockade on the capital, Sanaa, may force the centre to close within a week.

The National Blood Transfusion Centre director, Dr Adnan al-Hakimi, said the crisis emerged after French medical charity Doctors Without Borders (known by its French initials, MSF) informed the bank it was suspending its aid after more than two years of work.

"We will only be able to work for one more week, and after that, if the humanitarian organisations don't mobilise to support the national centre, it will shut down."

The blood bank says it treats some 3,000 Yemenis a month who suffer from cancer, kidney failure, and thalassaemia, an inherited blood disorder that causes severe anaemia.

But a trifecta of war, disease, and famine has left the bank struggling to keep up with spiralling demand, with basic supplies all but impossible to secure in a country locked in by port and airport blockades.

"We've been impacted by the overall situation in Yemen, including the economic collapse," Hakimi said.

Less than half of Yemen's hospitals are still up and running two years into a war between Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control Sanaa, and a government allied with an Arab military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.